Bill Danielson made a valid point in a recent letter to the editor when he criticized a couple of editorial cartoons that put a negative spin on heading back to school (Anti-back-to-school toons are shopworn gags, Aug. 23).

"The beginning of a new school year for children should be a moment of excitement, of promise, of renewing old friendships and making new ones — and the start of learning amazing and wonderful things in the coming nine months," Danielson wrote.

We sincerely hope that's the case for most new and returning students this week, and that the first day of the 2014-15 school term is not "the worst day of the year to be a kid," as National Post columnist Chris Selley dryly called it in the most recent installment of his Full Pundit feature.

But, whether a fresh-faced student on Thursday is thinking that day is "the start of learning amazing and wonderful things" or "the worst day of the year to be a kid," chances are they're going to be preoccupied with thoughts of school, new teachers, friends they haven't seen over the summer holidays, what they're wearing, new subjects, fitting in and so on.

The onus is on the adults, particularly in these early days of the school term, to keep the safety of our community's children in mind.

"In any school area there's a lot going on whether it's kids crossing streets or parents dropping kids off and picking them up or buses dropping kids off and picking them up," Cape Breton Regional Police spokeswoman Desiree Vassallo told the Cape Breton Post. "So if you do slow down, whether you're a pedestrian or a motorist, it just gives everybody that much more time to see what's going on around them and to react to it."

It's especially important for drivers travelling in both directions to stop for a school bus with flashing red lights, to eliminate any distractions (such as the ubiquitous smartphone), and to be aware of reduced speed limits in school zones — keeping in mind that the posted speed limit in many school zones in Nova Scotia is now 30 kilometres per hour.

"Speed matters," stated Pamela Fuselli, executive director at Safe Kids Canada. "It's estimated that a pedestrian struck by a car travelling at 50 kilometres an hour is eight times more likely to be killed than someone hit at 30 kilometres an hour."

We can't verify that statistic, but the basic message is: Slow down and be aware in school zones, and not only during the first few days of school, but during the whole term.